For the 11th straight year to kick off the summer, UFC will open up its doors in Las Vegas to International Fight Week festivities that are highlighted by a pay-per-view fight card inside T-Mobile Arena.
A pair of title bouts appear atop the marquee for Saturday's UFC 290 event, which is headlined by a featherweight title unification pairing dominant champion Alexander Volkanovski against upstart interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez.
The other title fight sees a rematch that was previously not at the title level. Flyweight champion Brandon Moreno will take on Alexandre Pantoja after Pantoja beat Moreno in their first official fight in 2018. The two also met during their season of "The Ultimate Fighter," which Pantoja also won by submission. Moreno enters as a sizable favorite to get the job done this time after coming out on top of the four-fight series with Deiveson Figueiredo. Pantoja, meanwhile, has won three in a row to earn his shot at the crown.
Let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines entering the busiest week of the calendar year for the premier promotion in mixed martial arts.
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1. Alexander Volkanovski is closing in on immortality
Volkanovski, the sport's reigning pound-for-pound king, is running out of major challenges at 145 pounds. And given how close he came to unseating lightweight king Islam Makhachev in their disputed February superfight, there's reason to believe Saturday's fifth title defense, this time against interim beltholder Yair Rodriguez, could be his last before seeking a Makhachev rematch (and a full-time move up in weight). With all due respect to rising title contender Ilia Topuria, who dominated Josh Emmett last month, a potential victory over Rodriguez could be the final step for Volkanovski in supplanting contemporaries like Holloway and Jose Aldo as the best 145-pound fighter in UFC history. The main reason for Volkanovski's claim would be how thoroughly he has defeated the biggest names available to him. Volkanovski won 22 consecutive fights heading into the Makhachev bout and owns featherweight victories over Chad Mendes, Aldo, Holloway (three times), Brian Ortega and "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung-Jung. And the fact that he won so dominantly over a still viable Aldo in 2019 might be the difference maker in allowing him to pass "The King of Rio" on the all-time rankings list. Volkanovski is not only a complete and brilliant fighter, he has shown time and again (particularly in defeating Ortega) just how durable and spectacular he can be in the face of danger. No one brings danger quite like this version of Rodriguez, which only amps up what's potentially at stake for Volkanovski with another victory.
2. Yair Rodriguez has finally found his greatness
Although he has accrued just two defeats in 13 UFC fights (with both coming against future Hall-of-Famers in Frankie Edgar and Holloway), Rodriguez has long been known for bright flashes of greatness balanced out by inconsistency. All of that seemed to change for the 30-year-old native of Mexico when he fought Holloway in 2021. Despite losing a close decision, Rodriguez landed more sustained damage and proved he belongs among the 145-pound elites. The stoppage victories that followed against Ortega (via shoulder injury) and Emmett (for the interim title) only cemented the fact that Rodriguez has matured his game enough to eliminate big mistakes without sacrificing the element of danger he brings. Rodriguez's resume is also sneaky good when one considers he owns UFC wins over the likes of Dan Hooker, Andre Fili, BJ Penn, "The Korean Zombie" and Jeremy Stephens before his recent run. While a win over Volkanovski would undoubtedly be the biggest of his career (and possibly set up a rematch with Holloway), Rodriguez is one of the rare opponents who brings a legitimate chance at unseating the reigning featherweight king due to the combination of his explosive strikes and unshakable confidence. Seeing Rodriguez as a strong betting underdog is understood given Volaknovski sustained run of dominance, but "El Pantera" is as live of a dog as anyone Volkanovski has faced as champion.
3. Can the third time be the charm for Brandon Moreno?
Moreno, who recaptured the flyweight crown by stopping former champion Deiveson Figueiredo in their historic fourth meeting in January, joins Rodriguez on Saturday as two of the faces of Mexican MMA's recent rise, which has also included Alexa Grasso's March upset of women's 125-pound champion Valentina Shevchenko. But Moreno's second reign as champion will be over before it starts if he can't erase the past he has endured with Alexandre Pantoja. The 33-year-old Brazilian submission threat is not only bringing a three-fight win streak (including stoppages of Brandon Royval and Alex Perez), he brings the confidence of having twice defeated Moreno in big spots. Pantoja submitted Moreno in Round 2 of their exhibition bout on the 2016 season of "The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions." Two years later, Pantoja scored a unanimous decision over Moreno in their exciting rematch. If there's one thing MMA fans learned about Moreno from his extended rivalry with Figuereido (who edged Pantoja by decision in 2019), it's that the 29-year-old "Assassin Baby" has become very adept at keeping his poise and making key mid-fight adjustments within chaos. Five years removed from their last meeting, Pantoja is fighting a very different Moreno this weekend as the all-action division continues to churn out compelling pairings among its elite fighters.
4. Timing is everything for Dricus du Plessis' title hopes
With four stoppages in five wins since making his UFC debut in 2020, du Plessis has emerged as an interesting player in the middleweight title picture. But "DDP" has undoubtedly benefited from the fact that champion Israel Adesanya has so thoroughly cleaned out the division as UFC brass has allowed him to cut the line at 185 pounds into Saturday's No. 1 contender's fight against former champion Robert Whittaker. A quick glance through the top 10 at middleweight is enough to explain why du Plessis is here. Consecutive finishes of Darren Till and Derek Brunson over the past seven months don't hurt, either. But has the native of South Africa truly done enough to deserve his spot as such a clear underdog against someone the talent level of Whittaker? It's a debate that's largely a moot one because UFC president Dana White has already announced du Plessis would be next for the Nigerian-born Adesanya with an upset win, which would answer the question du Plessis once presented while trash talking the champion by claiming he will prove who the real African-born champion is.
5. The last great action hero takes one more ride
At 41, there isn't much left to prove for former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. But the man on the short list of greatest action fighters in the sport's history will suit up for the final time in the featured preliminary bout when he faces fellow brawler Niko Price. Lawler hasn't been all that successful since losing his 170-pound title via first-round knockout to Tyron Woodley in 2016 and he enters the Price fight having lost six of his last eight, albeit against largely elite competition. But wins and losses have never defined the amazing career of Lawler, a former Miletich Fighting Systems product who turned pro in 2001 and has fought everywhere from Strikeforce and Elite XC to IFL and Pride before starting a second UFC stint in 2013 where he never looked back. Over his 22-year career, Lawler owns victories over a who's who including Chris Lytle, Frank Trigg, Melvin Manhoef, Matt Lindland, Josh Koscheck, Rory MacDonald (twice), Matt Brown, Johny Hendricks, Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone and Nick Diaz. But it's the bloody and courageous wars he left behind that will ultimately define why the no-nonsense Lawler remains so beloved. He's of a different time and era yet remains a timeless legend because of the violent purity of how he conducted himself.
Who wins UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez, and how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC 290, all from the MMA expert who profited more than $6,200 in 2022, and find out.
